Ramp patrol sees results
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
KAILUA — A successful first weekend has given a citizens patrol hope that it can put an end to drinking and other illegal activities plaguing neighbors of the Kailua Beach Park boat ramp for years.
About 20 volunteers wearing the yellow T-shirts of a police-supported patrol staked out the boat ramp's parking lot, on the Lanikai end of the park, from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, said Bryan Amona, patrol coordinator.
The patrol logged the license plate numbers of 30 suspicious cars, and anyone seen drinking alcohol was asked to leave, Amona said.
"We told them this is not a place to party and if we see you here again drinking, we're going to call (the police)," he said. "We told them to spread the word to their friends."
The patrol was formed as an alternative to a proposal favored by police and neighbors to lock up the ramp's parking lot at night. That proposal would have prevented legitimate use of the area by fishermen, so the patrol was devised as a compromise.
"There was enthusiastic support from the fishermen," said police coordinator Herb Lau. "It appeared that they want to go out there and do something for the community. We told them that we would continue to support them."
Lynn Ranta, who lives near the boat ramp and is secretary of the new patrol, said only one call was made to police last weekend.
Sunday night, the patrol approached a carload of teens who were about to start drinking, Ranta said. They left immediately but didn't go far, parking on the street overlooking the boat ramp.
"The officer responding let them go, saying he didn't see anything," Ranta said. "But we saw them drinking. We saw them rolling joints in the car and people got out of the car with their Coors."
It was possible that the teens hid any incriminating evidence before police arrived, she said.
Both Ranta and Amona were pleased with the result of the patrol activity and said its scope could expand to the hillside opposite the ramp and to Lanikai Elementary School, two blocks away. Both areas attract illegal activities, Ranta said.
If the patrol is expanded, it hopes to attract more volunteers.
"This way it's a community issue, not just a boat ramp issue," Ranta said.
There was one minor glitch on the first weekend, and members of the patrol offered a couple of ideas that could make their job easier.
One of the patrol's duties is to remind people that the park is closed after 10 p.m., but signs that informed the public of that had been removed, leaving the group without authority to instruct people to leave, Amona said.
Lau said the signs may come later as part of a strategy to inform the public about prohibited activities.
Patrol members also suggested having a kiosk to be used as a headquarters and as an information booth during the day. And in an attempt to give the patrol a higher profile, the group is seeking a sponsor willing to buy magnetic signs to place on their car.
Anyone interested in being a sponsor or in volunteering for the patrol can call Ranta at 343-1453 or Amona at 261-3880.
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
